Quotes About Actors

My heroes are Bill Murray and Dustin Hoffman. Those are the two actors that both do comedies and dramas, seamlessly. Also John C. Reilly and Philip Seymour Hoffman. They're all just great actors, neither comedic nor dramatic. They're just great actors.

I think every actor has their list of roles that were near misses. I've had my share. I was very close and almost cast in Philip Seymour Hoffman's 'Capote.'

I like to try to change things up a bit in the way that actors such as Philip Seymour Hoffman or Michael Fassbender did and do.

Character actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman and James Gandolfini have found themselves getting more and more leading roles because they are permitted to behave onscreen in ways that George Clooney and Matt Damon never could.

My career is weird because it's not like I'm a Liev Schreiber or a Philip Seymour Hoffman, incredibly well-respected theater actors who dabble in TV or film.

Whatever it takes, the job of the director is to be the leader and to get your actors where they need to go. That's a philosophy that I have.

Most actors don't like doing still photo shoots, but I love them. I'm very comfortable, and I enjoy the clothes, looking good, and freezing the moment.

Some actors don't mind it. Those who are pretty. They think it's nice to be looked at because they are nice to look at. I appreciate that. I'm very happy to salute that aspiration. But I don't like the way I look so I don't like being photographed. I become defensive.

I was really nervous working with actors, since I come from a photography background.

A lot of actors do that - they blame their failure on their agents or their photos. But that is just putting off the real issues.

You've heard the phrase 'There are no small roles, just small actors?' Well, I kind of disagree. There are small roles, but when you get a lot of them in a row, you can become a pretty successful actress, and that's what I've done.

I had always felt deep down that I owned the characters. Much as I adored and cherished the work of my actors, I felt that they were cast to do and be what I could not physically do or be.

It is very important for an actor to look physically attractive.

Actors have to maintain their physique, or they will fizzle out!

As far as the lack of hits goes, I think perhaps it's because I've played a lot of different roles and have not created a persona that the public can latch on to. I have played everything from psychopathic killers to romantic leading men, and in picking such diverse roles I have avoided typecasting.

When I write, I try not to cast in my head, because then I'm writing to a major movie star, and it picks up those ticks, and that's not what I want to do.

I'm very picky about the kind of work that I do, and I'm fortunate to have been able to work with great directors and great actors who've helped me grow as an artist.

The Shining is my fourth picture with Jack Nicholson, or as he says, our fourth 'classic.'

Many great horror stories are period pieces and English actors have a facility for historic characters.

I've been lucky enough to kiss three James Bonds on screen: Pierce Brosnan, George Lazenby and Daniel Craig.

When actors get pigeonholed, that's their own doing to a large degree. Because if you do something that people like, obviously they're going to ask you to do it again. It's up to you to say no. If you're that insecure about working, you'll probably do what you're known to do.

After 'Radio Flyer,' to this day, every family-oriented script or script with kid actors comes across my desk. That's just Hollywood: you get pigeonholed, and it's both a blessing and a curse, but you live with it.

You can watch actors create their illusions, but if you don't see where they get the pigeons from, you don't really know how they're doing it.

When you're doing a pilot, you're doing it in this bubble that almost works against the creative impulse. You don't have time to get to know the actors first, and you have three writers, as opposed to a room full of writers.